When it comes to building a bridge, step one is stabilizing the ground and assembling the steel.

So it only seems appropriate the rebuilding of the Lakers began with the selection of the biggest, strongest power forward available in Thursday night’s NBA draft.

Kentucky’s Julius Randle might not be Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins, the two flashy headliners of a draft most pegged one of the deepest in years.

His jump shot comes with questions. He isn’t a high flier and the best work he does might be the dirty kind.

He’ll rebound. He’ll set a tone. His points will come on extra effort, rugged drives to the basket and a whole lot of attitude.

Some of which came out during a nationally televised interview when he warned the six teams that passed on him they will pay dearly for their mistake

Point is, Randle might not be the highlight-reel player you often think of when picking in the top 10.

But assuming he sticks around — with the Lakers’ needs so vast and the expected chase of LeBron James dominating most of their immediate thinking, he might still be traded — Randle is a 6-foot-9 bruiser the Lakers hope is the foundation that supports the overpass they ride back to contention.

If so, they just roped a solid double.

And that isn’t a bad start to a process that might take years to pull them out of the abyss they’ve fallen into.

The next step is securing a sit down with James, who, out of respect will probably accept the invitation.

Then there’s that whole naming a coach thing, which will happen shortly after any meeting with James.

And then comes filling out a roster that presently stands just three deep.

That’s a lot of work left to be done just to field a team — let alone build a playoff contender.

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But the process had to start somewhere, and the Lakers might have caught a bit of a break kicking it off with the selection of Randle.

The 19-year-old Texan was regarded right along Parker and Wiggins going into their freshman seasons last year.

But playing on a deep Kentucky team that asked him to sacrifice for the good of the team curbed some of his numbers and blanketed some of his skill set.

Randle still averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds while leading the nation with 24 double doubles — helping the Wildcats reach the national championship game in the process. But who knows what he would have done on a less talented team that needed even more from him individually.

Meanwhile, there is concern he might need surgery to fix a pin that was placed incorrectly in his foot after he broke it in high school.

Both factors may have contributed to a draft-night slide.

Right into the waiting arms of the Lakers, who were none too pleased to make him their highest draft pick in 32 years.

Randle, it turns out, left a deep impression on Lakers brass during a recent individual workout in which they threw him a curve ball by asking him to play a two-on-two pick-up game. After sizing the situation up, Randle went to work unveiling some of the skills he had to suppress playing on such a deep Kentucky team.

More importantly, he never backed down.

“Once he realized what was going on, his competitive juices really started to flow and it was very impressive what kicked in,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said.

The workout stuck out to Randle as well.

“I felt good playing there and I was really excited to play and work out in L.A.,” he said. “It was a tough workout.”

Still, when they shook hands afterward, both were skeptical he’d be around when the seventh pick arrived.

Randle felt he was worthy of a higher pick and the Lakers agreed.

“But the thought was if I was, I was a perfect fit for them.” Randle said.

We’ll never know if the Lakers still would have drafted Randle had other players been available — specifically Kansas center Joel Embiid, Australian guard Dante Exum or Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart, all of whom were linked to the Lakers.

But with all three gone by the time their turn came around, they didn’t hesitate to gobble Randle up.

And seemed more than content to do so, brushing off scouting reports that questioned his jump shot while praising the energy and competitive nature that flashed over and over during a private workout.

“He’s got big-time skills and can put the ball on the floor, drive and get to the rim,” Kupchak said. “He’s been criticized with his jump shot a little bit. But we feel with repetition that’s not going to be a problem going forward at all. The bottom line is he plays and competes at a very high level.”

The comp most associated with Randle is Memphis forward Zach Randolph, one of the most productive front-court players in the game despite lacking a consistent outside game.

Randolph appreciates the comparison, but is more interested in making his own mark.

“I like it. But I try to be my own player. I’m my own self,” Randle said. “I don’t model my game after anybody. I always relied on being myself and going from there.”

Now he joins boyhood idol Kobe Bryant, who welcomed Randle to the fold with a supportive tweet soon after the Lakers pick.

He might not represent the savior the Lakers desperately need to rebound back to greatness.

But he might just be part of the foundation from which they rebuild their empire.